Cows A Harvest Moon Fanfic
by SayonaraChara
Summary: When Jack moves to Mineral Town, his only hope is to buy a cow. Will he find more than that? JackXwho?
1. The Beginning

**DISCLAIMER**—I do _not_ own Harvest Moon.

Cows

I did it. After many years of saving up, I finally did it. I, Jack, have bought a cow. I know what you're thinking. "Really? A cow? Wow. You must be _so_ proud of yourself." But I am. Ever since I was 12 and in 6th grade I have wanted a cow. The first thing I absolutely had to learn how to say in French was cow, which is 'vache'. I had to learn that before I could even say hello, which is sad, considering everyone knows the word 'bonjour'. I actually would randomly say cow or cows during the middle of class. My science teacher would be rambling about metamorphosis and other pointless stuff, and then everyone's heads would turn back because Jack was talking about cows again. Anyways, that's enough about the past. Even though I was talking about the present at the same time…. Let's get back to today.

"Come on, girl. You'll be fine. I promise," I said as I coaxed the cow into its new home. I had only been in Mineral Town for two days, and I had already saved up 5,000G for a new cow.

"Guess mining comes in handy, though it is tiring," I said to the cow.

"Moo," she replied.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot! I should probably name you!" I exclaimed to her.

"Mooooooooo!" she wailed.

" Hmm….. How about we call you…. Goddess Alexandra White the Fifth! Yeah! I like it! It suits you!" I exclaim, proud of myself for coming up with such a brilliant name. The cow just looked up at me with a blank stare.

"Maybe I should just call you Vashie," I said, disappointed. I was so sure that Goddess Alexandra White the Fifth was the perfect name. Damn.

"Moo!" she mooed happily.

Well, now that we had that covered, I led Vashie out of the barn and into the pasture. I leaned on the stone fence surrounding the pasture. In two days, I made 5,500G, and spent almost all of it. I spent all day in the mines collecting ores so that I could sell them to buy a cow. I got up at 5am, ate breakfast, and packed lunch and dinner. Then I'd place that and the crappy hammer the old farm owner left at the farm into my rucksack, and head out. I would start around 7am in the mines, and get done around 1am. From there I'd go straight home and into my bed. And, during that whole time, I had only met four people from the town.

There was the creepy mayor, for one. I think his name was Thomas. I swear to Goddess that guy is a homo. I don't mean that to be offensive, but the whole time that he was telling me I was the only person to fall for the newspaper article, he was staring me down in an uncomfortable place. And he tried to hold my hand. And then there was Barley. He was a nice, old man, and he sold me Vashie a matter of minutes ago. Barley had a granddaughter, May, and she had seemed particularly sad to let the cow go. Lastly, there was Zack. He came to my house every evening to pick up my shipments, and he would give me money for them. He seemed oddly buff… But enough about his buffness. It's time I go explore the city. I have a mere 200G left today, and I guess now would be the time to go 'shopping'.


	2. Shopping?

**a/n—I really hope you guys like this chapter! Thanks for the great reviews!!!**

_Chara_

**DISCLAIMER**—I do _not_ own Harvest Moon.

Chapter 2

After I brushed Vashie, quick, I hopped the fence of the pasture, and headed north. Usually, I took the south route, which leads an easier route to the mines. Actually, now that I think about it, it's the _only _way to the mines.

I took the sight of my land in. My farm was a mess. There were logs, boulders, and weeds everywhere you looked. The only place where there wasn't crap everywhere was where there was no farmland. That and Vashie's pasture, at least. Now that I had met my goal, I should probably try cleaning that up. Maybe I can even plant some crops.

All of a sudden, I was shrouded in darkness. I looked up, only to see a building. There was a sign next to the front door.

_Saibara's Blacksmith Shop_

_Shop Hours: 10am - 4pm, closed on Thursdays_

_Hmm_, I thought, _maybe I should go meet the people inside. It's only a quarter after 1, and it's a Wednesday. _I opened the door, it emitting a wailing creak as I did.

I took in the store. Straight ahead of me was a grumpy-looking old man sitting behind a counter, half asleep. I must have woken him, because he shot up in his chair.

"Wha-What! Oh! Uh, hi!" the old man said, startled, "Who might you be?"

"I'm Jack. I just moved into that abandoned farm just south of here," I said, pointing toward my farm.

"Oh, hello! I'm Saibara. I own this blacksmith shop. My grandson works here as an apprentice. He's about your age," Saibara says, "and he's not all too friendly. But that's another matter. Any-hoo, if you ever want to upgrade any of your tools, this is the place to go. Just bring me either a Copper, Silver, Gold, or Mystrile Ore and some money, and you're tool will be ready in a few days!"

"Thanks. I'll probably be back here soon, then. Well I better go meet the other villagers. Bye!" I exclaimed.

I exited the blacksmith shop, whistling as I did. I took a left, then a right, and started heading up the path._ This town is so different from the city,_ I mused._ There's not a car in sight, and the paths wouldn't even allow one through with their size. And the air is so unbelievably clean…_

I was soon at the next building. A man was standing in the field next to the building, admiring some grapevines. I walked up to him.

"Hello," I greeted.

"Why hello! Who might you be?" he exclaimed, seeming rather excited.

"I'm Jack. I just moved to the farm south of here," I said.

He looked at me with wide eyes as he said, "Really?! That's so cool! Do you want to see my pony?! IT'S _PINK!!!!!_"

And then he collapsed. I just stood there, staring at him. The man had black hair with white streaks in it, and wrinkles covered his face. _He _must_ be middle aged,_ I thought. He was wearing a purple suit jacket with a matching bowtie, and a pair of black pants. He also had a slight beer belly.

As I was examining him, a woman ran out of the building. "Duke! Duke!" she worriedly exclaimed. "What happened to him?! Did he collapse again?! Who are you?!"

I looked at her confusedly, and said, "He was talking about a pink pony, and then he collapsed. I'm Jack!"

Her face softened, "Ah, the new farmer. I've heard about you. How's your cow?"

I helped her hoist the man onto the stretcher that was leaning against the side of the building. "Yeah. And she's great! How do you know about all that stuff?" I asked, slightly dumbfounded.

She giggled, "Oh. Gossip travels fast in a small town such as this one. By the way, I'm Manna. Duke and I run the Aja Winery. It's named after my daughter…" her face grew somber, "She left us a few years ago. We don't know where she went, and she never writes or calls… Even on holidays." A single tear ran down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, and regained her composure.

"I'm so sorry about that. Well, I should probably get Duke to the Clinic, before it closes. Gray is just around the corner at the library, so I'll fetch him to help me. See you later!"

"Um, I can help you," I said.

"No thanks. You should probably go tend to your cow. By the way, we're open from 10am to 4pm, and we're closed Saturdays. Anyways, thanks for the help! Ta-ta!"

And with that, she was gone, and I was on my way home.

**a/n—I know. Horrid ending. But oh well! I'm almost done with chapter 3, so you won't have that long of a wait!**


	3. Mining

**a/n—Errr… I lied… There was a year's wait. Whoops. I feel really bad… I revised this chapter, like, 3 times, and then I forgot about it. And then I remembered it last week when cleaning out my folders on my computer. So I finished it, and here we are! I'll try not to do that again. :'(**

_Chara_

**DISCLAIMER**—I do _not_ own Harvest Moon.

Chapter 3

I decided that now would be the perfect time for mining. On my way there, I stopped inside my house and grabbed a sandwich. Then I headed out.

Watching where I walked, so I didn't trip on something and kill myself, I headed south. I crossed the bridge that runs over the river south of my farm, and then followed the path to the right. The path leads to the hot springs and the Goddess Pond. A little farther down the hill, on the left side, is Kappa Lake and the Winter Mine. Supposedly, a Goddess lives in the Goddess Pond, and a mystical creature called Kappa lives in Kappa Lake.

I made my way past the hot springs and the Goddess Pond, and to the Spring Mine. I sat myself down on a boulder outside of the entrance, and grabbed my lantern out. I lit it, grabbed my hammer, and went inside.

Once inside, I headed deep into the cave. Pretty soon, I had neared the place where I had found the most valuable ores and gems. I started smashing away at the rocks, collecting anything that looked sparkly. This was extremely tiring with my crappy, old hammer, so I decided to take a break.

I sat down on a boulder much too big for me to smash, and got out my sandwich. Two bites into my sandwich, I heard footsteps. Looking around I saw nothing, so I went back to my sandwich. Five seconds later, the footsteps were back, this time accompanied by a muttering sound. As they start to get louder, so does the voice. I quickly put my sandwich away and tried to listen.

I soon realized that it was a man, with a deep, baritone voice. "Stupid Mary," he said. "I didn't mean for the book to fall! Ugh! I took the book off of the shelf, and the one next to it decided to go along for the ride and fall on her head. Not my fault! She didn't have to have a hissy fit and call me a 'moronic, insolent jerk' before she stormed off. And she _really _didn't have to bitch-slap me. What the he—," he stopped midsentence. I turned around, only to see him a few yards away, staring at me with a shocked expression. He looked about my age. He wore a tan jacket over a brown shirt, and cargo pants tucked into hiking boots. To top it off, he wore a worn-out looking hat that read 'UMA' over his blond hair. His face was chiseled, and he had deep, blue eyes.

"Shit. Did you hear all of that?!" he asked.

"Yeah, girl problems?" I answered, still mesmerized by his hotness. _You're a guy, Jack. Get over it. Not going to happen. You're just tired,_ I told myself.

"Um… Well… Yeah, I guess…" he trailed off.

"You can tell me! I don't even know you!" I said, a little too eager to make a new friend that's actually my age and gender. _HE'S A GUY! FREAKING GET OVER IT! _I screamed at myself.

The man looked nervously at me. "Isn't that kind of weird?"

"Well, here's the summary:" I started. "My name is Jack. I moved into the old farm east of here. I'm 22 years old. I like cows, and I enjoy singing. I speak French. I'm here in this mine to earn some extra money. I'm currently single, but I've dated before. So I can help you."

"Umm… Okay?" he said. "By the way, my name's Gray."

"My name's Jack!" I replied.

He shifted awkwardly, "You already said that, like, two seconds ago, dude."

"Oh," I laughed.

"Um… Yeah. Anyways, are you gonna help me or not?" He asked.

I glanced at his profile again. I set my sandwich down. "Sure!" I said. _Now I realize why Manna wanted HIM to help her with Duke… I'm jealous, _I thought. _STOP IT!_ my mind shouted at itself.

"Okay… So there's this girl," He started.

"Mary."

"Yeah, well I like her… And so I go to the library whenever I have free time. She works there…." He trailed off. "Anyways, I was at the library after work today, and I was looking through the books. Mary comes up and asks me if I need help getting a book down. I said no. So I grab the book I wanted, and the book next to it falls out onto her head. She turns toward me angrily and says, 'You moronic, insolent jerk! I just wanted to help! You don't have to throw a book at me! Now we're closing early. Get out.' She started crying. I tried to explain, but she wouldn't take it. And then she slapped me. So I left."

"What the fuck?" I asked. "I mean really. _What. The. Fuck?!_ Is it, like, 'that time of the month' or something?! How in the hell could she think that you threw a book at her?"

Gray shrugged, " I don't know, man… She's so smart…"

"Maybe she was checking you out?" I suggested. "I mean, if I were a chick, I'd check you out." I sighed mentally for having just said that.

He shifted awkwardly. "Uh, thanks?" he said. "Well, I guess she could've been… But she seems so innocent."

"I don't know… Maybe she's one of those librarians gone bad or something, " I grinned.

He laughed, "Now _that_ would get an interesting reaction out of Basil."

"Who's Basil?" I asked.

" Mary's father," said Gray. "You've probably seen him walking around town. He's always bent over, and he looks like he's staring at the grass for hours upon hours. But he's really examining plants. He's a naturalist and an author." He sat down on a rock and picked up my sandwich. He took a bite.

I quickly spun around so that I could face him. "_SAY WHAT?!"_ I replied, sounding a whole lot like a girl imitating Miley Cyrus. "Who was drunk enough to shack up with _him?!_"

"Anna was," he replied. "When I came to Mineral Town after college, to be a blacksmith's apprentice for my grandpa, Basil and Anna were married and had a daughter my age. I had always known Anna to be pretty and popular from when I came to visit my grandpa as a kid, and Basil was a nerdy loner. But then I got older and I didn't visit gramps as much. And then I came here, and… There was Mary. I didn't really think about the equation after I had talked to her a few times." He finished off the rest of my sandwich.

I sat down, too. "Damn… I am SO going to the library to meet this Mary chick…" I said. Gray glared at me defensively. "Well, just to meet her and see what the hell's up. Who knows? Maybe she'll explain what happened today to me. Don't worry, I won't try to steal her."

He relaxed. "'Kay. Cool. Since she's mad at me, I won't be at the library at all tomorrow. So you can find me in my gramps' shop, or here," he said. "You seem like a cool guy. I think we'll get along pretty well."

My heart swelled. My mind scolded itself. I was really going to have to get used to this.

"Oh, and by the way, you should stop by the Inn sometime. I live there, and I think that maybe I could hook you up with a free meal and a drink sometime." He offered.

I beamed graciously. "Thanks! I'm on a tight budget for the time being, and that would help."

"Well bye, dude. Thanks," he said as he got up to leave.

I stood up also, and opened my arms up for a hug. Gray glanced at the floor and backed up. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh, yeah… That was a nice gesture and all, but I'm just not comfortable with that yet," he said.

I laughed awkwardly. "Um. Yeah. Right… Sorry. See you tomorrow. Bye!" I said. He nodded and walked away. Since he had eaten my sandwich, I just gathered up my findings and decided I'd head out, too. _I'll need my sleep, _I thought. _Tomorrow's bound to be interesting._


End file.
